I'm a natural Earthy kinda girl, I love all things green and have been an eco-warrior and animal rights activist from a young age. It is only apt therefore that I was actually born on Earth Day. This is my blog looking into ways to help both the planet, and each and every one of its inhabitants, and to put an end to animal testing full stop.

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Anyone who knows me, be it online or in person...hell, anyone who has ever spoken to me for more than about 2 minutes will know how much I love bunnies. I spend more time with my bunny Jonah than any person I know. So it is with great disgust that I read that fashion designer Donna Karan is using bunny fur in her products such as fur trimmed jackets, bags and hats. The best part about this bunny butcher operation is that Donna Karan knows exactly what cruelty and torture goes into all of her products so she has no excuse to defend herself. She is a cold and heartless woman who makes millions out of the suffering and pain of millions of bunnies each year. These poor creatures are left in cramped cages lying in their own faeces...if that is anyone's idea of glamorous then they are a truly sick human being.

Due to the fact that more than half the fur in the US each year is imported from China, this fur operation is all the sicker. Apparently the Chinese have no problems bludgeoning, hanging, electrocuting and skinning alive millions of animals each year. This isn't just bunnies though, we are talking dogs, cats...so many animals. And because the Chinese have a tendency to mislabel things...that tendency being totally on purpose if you ask me...consumers have absolutely no idea what they are actually buying. So you might think that the fur on your coat comes from a fox, or a rabbit...but there is just as much a chance that it comes from a cat or a dog. Something, which for some reason, seems to bother people more than other animals. It's like the same thing with people eating cows and sheep...that is apparently acceptable in Western countries like the UK and US, however tell someone they are eating a cat or a dog, and all hell would break out. NO animal deserves to be turned into food for humans in my humble opinion but that's a whole other blog!

Anyhoo, getting off track, I am urging you all to take action for the bunnies of the world and urge Donna Karan to stop using fur in her products immediately. For a woman who makes a point of the fact that she is a devout practitioner of yoga, a practice that teaches you to harm none, and to believe in the concept of karma, you would think she would be more conscious with her products. But no, she could care less and in that respect I hope that karma turns around and gives her a good slap in the face if she doesn't change her ways.

You can write to her company via P.E.T.A. here. You can also read more on the Donna Karan - Bunny Butcher campaign at this link. Tell Donna Karan that you will boycott ALL of her products, perfume and all until she changes her murderous ways.

Saturday, 10 September 2011

So yesterday The Sun Newspaper featured a cover stor about how those lovely (NOT!!!) EU Officials in Brussels were threatening to order changes to the recipe of Irn Bru, our iconic Scottish drink! First Minister Alex Salmond described this issue as vital -

Mr Salmond has written to Euro Commissioner John Dalli — whose department covers the Food Chain and Animal Health Committee which will make the crucial decision — to warn him of the impact of changing the rules.

He told him: "This would have a major impact on Barr's Irn-Bru, Scotland's leading soft drink brand and an iconic Scottish product."

Today The Sun reported that the downright outrage of the Scottish people has saved our Bru!

And the Krankies were also delighted at the decision.They said: "For once, the bureaucrats in Brussels have been sent packing with their tails between their legs."I think they were scared of taking on the Scots when they got the message loud and clear — mess with our Bru and we'll have you."

Now if we can all stand together as a nation over a our beloved drink, can we all stand together when it comes to other important matters, such as animal testing! The Euro Commissioner John Dalli's department also covers the Animal Health Committee. Because the EU want Britain to be on a par with their barbaric animal testing methods, the UK is looking to instead of putting animals to sleep that are not required for experiments due to over breeding and what not, they are now looking to change it to where they CLUB THE ANIMALS TO DEATH!!! We need to take a stand against this and tell our government where they can stick this grotesque plan! If we can save a drink, surely we can save thousands of Beagles, Primates, Bunnies, Ferrets, Foxes...so many animals! Please read this article and take a deep thought about just where we stand as a nation on this vile practice!

Tuesday, 6 September 2011

The news that a number of lab chimps have seen the light of day for the first time in 30 years is bound to bring a smile to newspaper readers all over the UK, and indeed the rest of the world's faces. The thing is, out of all these people who greet this news with a smile, how many of them are actually in the minority of those who are actually conscious about the products they use on a day to day basis? I'd put my life on it only being about 10%...and that is being bloody generous! I hear this all too often, that people are against animal testing and that they think that it is wrong, yet they constantly support the companies who commit these vulgar atrocities! This post isn't me trying to be a dick to all those people though, it is me making a point that despite the fact that people care about these animals, the companies that actually commit a number of the daily atrocities are the best selling ones, be it cleaning products, beauty and make up products, you name it these guys are the worst! In the UK, all products made by two of the biggest companies, Proctor and Gamble and Unilever all test on animals, that includes Fairy, Ariel, Bounty, Braun, Lenor, Gillette, Head and Shoulders, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Febreze, Pantene, Nice and Easy, Clearasil, Sure, Zest, Herbal Essences and Wella. That's not even the lot either! And that's just the Proctor and Gamble products, Unilever include Dove, Lux, Sunsilk, Lynx (see, it's not just their shitty adverts that are annoying and wrong!), Brut, Brylcreem, Cif, Persil, Radox, Pond's, Sunsilk, Surf, Impulse, Lux, VO5! Make up products such as Loreal, Max Factor, Lancome, Neutrogena, Maybelline, Johnson and Johnson, hell, even Accessorize make up products test on animals! Fact!

How many people are willing to make the change from these products to a more animal friendly one though? Do you even read the label, or look into a product before you buy it? If the answer is no, why is that? Is it that you can't be bothered, or because you know that if you find out what these products are tested on you'll feel guilty about buying them. Or is it that you simply were unaware of these cruel practices in the first place?

It is the so-called animal lovers that argue that the reason they don't change the products they use that are tested on animals is because they make their skin feel better, or clean their clothes better. WTF!?! You don't love animals, you are a selfish human being and don't deserve to own an animal! How would these people like it if their pet dog or cat had harmful products dripped into its eyes whilst being pinned open, perhaps had their family dog shaved before being covered in chemicals that will burn its skin, or pump the dog's stomach full of harmful chemicals. How about we cut their pet open, just for the fucking sake of it, because let's face it, that's pretty much the only excuse these companies need to justify some of the shit they do! And these things DO happen, if you refuse to believe this then you are far more ignorant you choose to believe!

Ignorance doesn't stop this shit from happening, all it does is guarantee a huge number of innocent animals will die, just because you can't be arsed to stand up for them. Even if you don't want to take time out to write to the companies conducting these horrid tests, at least just refuse to buy their products. It's easy for us as people to take a stand...this is a stand that the animals involved don't have! I told myself I would refrain from swearing in this post but I can't help it, people infuriate me so much sometimes. It's not difficult to make a change, at least not for us. If you truly love animals, or have your own pets that you would never in a million years want anything to happen to them, then take the stand, stop buying products from these companies until they have the balls to step into the 21 century and step out of the dark ages! Because that is where they are living!

I would never in a million years let anyone hurt my bunny (below with my Westie), let alone do any of the stuff that actually happens to them...just for the so-called vanity of humanity! Please join me in actually loving my pet, and loving ALL animals!!!!

Simply changing your cosmetic and cleaning products is by far the easiest step to take against animal testing. Obviously this goes so much further, but if we just take that first step, we can save so many innocent creatures. Animal testing is inaccurate and expensive, so why do companies continue to do it!?! Did you know that in the UK, just because we are part of the stupid EU, our animal testing laws are set to take a HUGE step backwards, just to put us on a par with a more backward EU!!! We may like to think of ourselves as a more Western country, but being part of the EU is holding us back...no, it's not holding us back...it's SENDING us back! If with this blog I can convince even one of you to make a change, then that's a start! As I said before, I'm not trying to be a dick...sometimes I just can't help myself and I do come across as being a bit harsh. But it's when time after time again I read of the same thing, it's kinda hard to find compassion for the human race.

I have even in the past nearly compromised my own health after refusing to take a medication that I had read had tested on Beagles in the past. I disposed of them immediately and then preceded to make a doctors appointment to complain. After calming me down, my doctor explained that these tests were done in the past, they had been done and I couldn't change that. What I could do is campaign against stuff like this happening in the future, and make people aware of it. It was quite refreshing to hear a doctor's views being such as this. She said she would happily help me with this and that if I didn't take the drugs then I wouldn't be able to do as much good and help these animals as much as I wanted too. She was right. And yes, whilst she might think I'm completely kooky...she thought that before this incident (lol)...she was more understanding and compassionate than I guess I could ever have imagined.

Just even writing about this I have discovered so much, and memories have indeed been brought back. November 5th, this year marks the 10 year anniversary of the death of Barry Horne, a man that was so true to the cause he believed in, that he starved to death in prison because he truly believed that vivisection was wrong! This literally brings tears to my eyes, that one man will give his life to stop the cruel torture of Beagles, bunnies, primates, mice, rats...you name it. Barry Horne was indeed an exceptional human being. He was in prison relating to incidents surrounding the Huntington laboratories that are notorious for animal torture! You can read about Barry's plight here and I really do urge that you do. The world is a smaller place without him, yet the attention he brought towards animal rights and anti-vivisection laws was remarkable!

What we really need though, what would be a super smack in the face towards mankind, is a REAL Rise of Planet of the Apes, oh yes! Maybe then mankind would start to take notice to the vulgar practices it preaches every day!